


prioritize

by envysparkler



Series: Pavor [8]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Gen, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Hurt/Comfort, Scarecrow's Fear Toxin (DCU)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:09:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27998793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/envysparkler/pseuds/envysparkler
Summary: Batman cannot protect all his children at once.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Series: Pavor [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932523
Comments: 99
Kudos: 988
Collections: Jason and Tim Enemy-to-Caretaker





	prioritize

**Author's Note:**

> thinly veiled excuse for a batfam cuddle pile.

Bruce was used to operations going south, especially when a Rogue was involved, and when his children scattered under Scarecrow’s onslaught, Bruce was already moving.

First, Robin – Bruce caught up to Damian before his son could flee the building, antidote already in his hand. He grabbed Damian’s hand, ignored the ear-piercing scream, and depressed the plunger into skin.

Damian dropped almost immediately, and Bruce caught him, running for the Batmobile. The antidote had been hastily synthesized the day before and one of the side effects was extreme exhaustion. It took him an extra two seconds to strap his son to the backseat before he straightened again.

Next, Nightwing – out of all his children, his was the worst reaction. Not because it was especially severe, or because his fears were worse than the others’, but because Nightwing’s default response to fear toxin was to find the highest available perch.

And then jump, arms outstretched to catch someone that wasn’t there.

“Oracle,” Bruce growled, using his grapple to return to the rooftops, “Where’s Nightwing?”

“A block south, and climbing,” Barbara responded, an edge to her tone. Bruce gritted his teeth and forced himself faster.

“Everyone else?” he asked, as he spied a black-and-blue form scaling the edge of the highest apartment building in the East End.

“Spoiler and Black Bat,” Steph responded, sounding out of breath, “In pursuit of Scarecrow, heading to the docks.”

“Red Robin?” Bruce asked, heading straight for the roof rather than trying to intercept Nightwing’s path.

A low, scared, choked-off sound echoed through the comms.

“His tracker’s near the edge of the Bowery,” Barbara said, with the faint sound of keys clacking, “Heading into Crime Alley.”

“Red Robin? Red Robin, report.” A flash of black-and-blue jumping for the ledge of the building, and Bruce moved.

“No,” Tim mumbled, “No, _no_ – please, don’t…”

“I’ll try to get eyes on him,” Barbara sighed.

“Stay away!” Tim shouted, voice high and quavering, “Stay away from me!”

Bruce angled to tackle Nightwing as he straightened up on the roof, rolling them both away from the edge as he brought the needle up.

One pinprick later, his eldest son went limp in his arms and Bruce let out a slow breath. He levered himself upright and grabbed Nightwing, readying the grapple for their descent.

“Send me Red Robin’s location,” Bruce growled, “And Spoiler –”

A scream echoed through the comm.

“Black Bat,” Cass responded, voice small, “Spoiler is hit. Scarecrow escaping.”

“Please stay away from me,” Tim said quietly, “ _Please_ –”

“Replacement,” echoed distantly – not through a direct line, but background noise from the comms.

Bruce hit the ground, and froze. Barbara sucked in a sharp breath.

“Batman?” Cass asked softly – Dick unconscious, Steph screaming, Tim whimpering, and a faint mechanized voice getting louder.

There was no time to think. Only time to trust his instincts, and _act_.

Bruce headed back to the Batmobile with Dick in his arms, and gave out firm orders. “Black Bat, pursue Scarecrow. I will deal with Spoiler, ETA five minutes. Oracle, get me a line to Red Hood.”

He deposited Dick in the back, next to Damian, and haphazardly buckled him in before jumping into the front seat and directing the vehicle to Spoiler’s location.

“Can’t do that,” Barbara said, keyboard tapping, “He doesn’t have a comm. Nothing connected to the web as far as I can tell.” A pause, as Bruce cursed inside his head. “I’m scanning the cameras, but I don’t have eyes on either of them.”

“No, _stop_ ,” Tim said, quiet and terrified, and then again, louder, his voice drawing into a shout.

“Shh,” Hood said, his voice no longer mechanized, “Shh, kid, it’s me, calm down.”

Bruce squeezed his eyes shut and prayed that he was making the right decision.

“Stay away – _stay away_ –”

“Kid, look at me. _Look at me_. You know who I am.”

Bruce braked with a screech and barely remembered to put the car in park before he got out, following the sound of faint sobs.

“Robin?” Tim asked hesitantly.

Bruce missed a step. Barbara sucked in a sharp breath. He could see the purple-and-black blending into the shadows and his heart was racing, urging him to head to Crime Alley before –

“Yes,” Jason’s voice wavered, “Yeah, baby bird, it’s Robin.”

Compartmentalize. Focus on the current objective. Shove down all his emotions, especially the ones he couldn’t name, as Tim’s sobs grew muffled in sync to the soft shushing.

Bruce darted forward, using the shadows as cover, and dodged the kick to his face, ducking under Spoiler’s guard and grabbing her arm before she could finish the punch. She shrieked at him, aiming for a head-butt, and Bruce let her head crash against his armored chest and tried not to stagger.

Needle sank into skin, and he depressed the plunger. Steph dropped instantly.

“It’s okay, baby bird,” Jason said, low and soothing, “It’s okay, no one can get you here.”

“Oracle,” Bruce almost snarled as he hefted Spoiler up, heading out of the abandoned building.

“Red’s tracker isn’t moving,” Barbara responded, an edge to her tone, “Black Bat –”

“Captured Scarecrow,” Cass’s voice came clearly through the comms, “Handed to police. Heading to Batmobile.”

Cass was indeed back, she hopped up before Bruce even reached the Batmobile, and took Steph from his hands before wrangling the both of them into the limited space in the back. Bruce slammed his foot on the pedal as he inputted the coordinates in Crime Alley.

“You’re safe,” echoed through the otherwise silent comms, “You’re safe, I’m here, it’s okay.”

Sobs fading to whimpers, easing to soft, hitched breaths.

Barbara had gone completely silent – if not for the sound of the keyboard, Bruce wouldn’t even know she was there. He couldn’t blame her – the soothing reassurances that neither of them thought they’d hear again, not when they lowered a casket, not when a furious green-eyed vigilante returned from the grave with no trace of the bright, laughing Robin that he’d once been.

The Batmobile was silent when it pulled up to the street and Bruce slunk straight into the shadows, using the darkness to cover him as he eased through an already broken window. Shafts of orange streetlight painted odd patterns along the musty, deserted floor, empty, abandoned crates causing shadows to pool and broken lightbulbs crunching under his boots.

Hood was sitting with his back to a crate, helmet off, one hand on a gun. It twitched at Bruce’s approach, but didn’t raise.

His other arm was wrapped tightly around the bundle in his arms, a mop of black hair peeking out over his shoulder as red-clad arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Red Robin was shivering, tucked into Hood’s armored chest and curled up on his lap.

“Hood,” Bruce acknowledged.

Jason raised his head and glared, green eyes glowing.

Bruce raised the needle in his hand. “Antidote,” he said.

Jason twisted his face into a snarl, but holstered the gun as he shifted to allow Bruce better access. Tim made a choked sob, pressing tightly against Jason as he turned a fearful gaze on Bruce.

“Shh, baby bird,” Jason said softly, his voice gentler than he’d ever allowed it to be around Bruce, “It’s Batman, it’s okay.”

“Hurts,” Tim stuttered, “It hurts, make it _stop_.”

“I promise this’ll make it stop.”

Tim made a sharp cry and twisted further into Jason’s hold, pressing his face into Jason’s armor and squeezing his eyes shut. Jason rubbed a hand over Tim’s trembling back, holding him still as Bruce approached with the needle.

The tension drained out of Tim as Bruce removed the needle.

“I didn’t sign up to be the Bat babysitting service,” Jason growled after Tim’s breathing evened out.

Bruce ignored the antagonism and held his arms out for Tim as Jason straightened up fully, a wince flitting over his features as he moved with slow caution. “Thank you,” Bruce said levelly.

Jason’s sneer intensified, but he made no further comment as he reached out to deposit Tim into Bruce’s arms. Unfortunately, Tim’s arms were still wrapped tightly around Jason’s neck, and after three tries to pry him off, Jason gave a frustrated huff.

Bruce made no attempt to help him. Bruce was pretty sure that moving would break the tenuous self-control keeping the smile off his face, and if Jason saw his lips twitching, he _would_ shoot.

“You can come back to the Cave,” Bruce offered quietly.

“No,” came the automatic response.

“Everyone’s going to be sleeping this one off,” Bruce continued, ignoring Jason’s glare.

“I didn’t get hit with fear toxin,” Jason snarled.

“No, but you are bleeding. And two…cracked ribs? Broken?”

Jason set his jaw, mouth pressed into a thin line, but he was too close to hide the microexpressions flitting across his face.

“ _Fine_ ,” Jason snapped out, pulling Tim back out of Bruce’s arms and stomping out of the building with an indignant sound. Bruce was startled enough that he stared blankly after Jason for several seconds, before Barbara gave a polite cough.

“I’ll follow up on Scarecrow,” she muttered, before clicking off of the comms, and Bruce followed Jason out of the building.

Jason sank into the passenger seat of the Batmobile, adjusting Tim’s weight in his lap before turning and scowling at the passengers in the back – Cass narrowed her eyes, and Jason wisely kept his mouth shut – as Bruce started the drive.

“Thank you,” Bruce repeated as the Batmobile sped silently through the streets, heading back to the Cave.

“I didn’t do it for you,” Jason scoffed, his gaze fixed out the window.

“That doesn’t change the fact that I’m grateful,” Bruce said, keeping his voice level.

Jason made a harsh, barking laugh. “Grateful, or relieved?” he said, swinging that intense gaze to Bruce, “Worried you weren’t going to find the Replacement in one piece?”

Bruce pressed the autopilot button so that he could meet Jason’s gaze. “If I thought you were a danger to him,” Bruce said slowly, “I would’ve gotten there earlier.”

Several emotions crossed Jason’s face – disbelief, anger, incredulity, shock – before it went blank and Jason turned away with a sharp, irritated sound. The glare on his face was at odds with the careful way he kept Tim curled against his chest, and the silence was no longer tense.

The Batmobile rolled to a smooth stop in the Cave, and Alfred was waiting for them.

Jason got Tim out, leaning against the hood of the car like Bruce wouldn’t be able to see the wince across his face as he readjusted his grip on his younger brother. Cass was carrying Steph over one shoulder and Damian in the other arm, and Bruce was left to extricate his eldest son.

He took five steps towards the medbay, and sighed, resisting the urge to groan. There were only two beds, and they would need to make several trips to get everyone to their bedrooms, and Jason was injured –

“Perhaps we can utilize the training mats, before we begin relocation?” Alfred suggested.

Jason was already stalking to the mats, Cass behind him, and Bruce shot a grateful look at Alfred as he moved there as well.

Cass settled Steph on the ground, and Damian in between her and Tim, as Jason attempted to shrug himself out of his jacket and armor without aggravating his injuries or waking Tim up. Bruce deposited Dick on the other side of Cass, and went to help Jason before backing off at the bared teeth and low growl.

Alfred moved seamlessly to take his place, and he recounted Jason’s injuries out loud as Bruce changed out of his suit and fetched blankets for everyone. A graze – _lucky bullet_ , Jason muttered – and two cracked ribs from bullets that the armor had blocked. By the time Bruce returned to the mats, Alfred was done wrapping the wounds, and Cass had gotten the masks off Dick, Steph, and Damian.

Bruce stared at the collection of his children. The sensible thing to do would be to get each of them up into the Manor and into their own beds.

Jason had flopped back against the mats, seemingly resigned to Tim’s death grip around his neck. Cass finished removing the more jagged pieces of everyone’s suits before sitting back in between Steph and Damian. And Bruce was _exhausted_ , worry slowly untwining from his limbs to leave behind weariness.

“Shall I go fetch some pillows, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked quietly.

Bruce stumbled forward, and sank to the mats beside Dick. “That sounds like a good idea,” he agreed.

**Author's Note:**

> Damian is the first one to wake up, and immediately registers his displeasure at being tucked under Tim’s arm by jumping up with a loud squawk. This wakes up Bruce and Dick, who both attempt to get up too fast and end up knocking their heads together.
> 
> Tim, who is definitely not a morning person, just rolls away from Damian and snuggles into Jason’s side. Jason is awake and alert, but has decided to write off the whole weekend and makes no move to get up.
> 
> Cass stalks away scowling at all the noise, and curls up in the computer chair. Steph blearily catches Damian before he trips over her, and bundles him back under the blanket, ignoring his screeched threats.
> 
> Alfred makes no attempt to hide his smile, and goes to get breakfast ready.


End file.
